The Obama administration is expected to announce waivers to the 2008 Child Soldiers Protection Act that is meant to stop the U.S. from giving military aid to countries that recruit soldiers under the age of 15 and use them as soldiers.

Mr. Obama laid out a range of justifications for waiving penalties on Yemen, South Sudan, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, all of which amount to a gutting of the law for the second year in a row.

Speaking out against the decision, Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), vice chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights said:

“President Obama’s decision today to provide taxpayer funded military assistance to countries that use children as soldiers is an assault on human dignity. Good citizens of this country who do not want to be complicit in this grave human rights abuse must challenge this administration. Our law states that America does not fund the use of child soldiers.”

Perhaps Barack Obama can explain why he has such contempt for children?

Obama is much like his hero, Ronald Reagan. His world view is limited and like Reagan, he hasn’t learned to connect the dots. There are consequences for such policy decisions. Obama is simply not ready for primetime.

Please read this from Amnesty International. Your president is utterly contemptible. If he cares so little about the exploitation of children in the developing world, how can you trust him to care about America’s children?

From Cradle to War

Worldwide, hundreds of thousands of children are recruited into government armed forces, paramilitaries, civil militia and a variety of other armed groups.

Under international law, the participation of children under 18 in armed conflict is generally prohibited, and the recruitment and use of children under 15 is a war crime. Yet worldwide, hundreds of thousands of children are recruited into government armed forces, paramilitaries, civil militia and a variety of other armed groups. Often they are abducted at school, on the streets or at home. Others enlist “voluntarily”, usually because they see few alternatives.

Such children are robbed of their childhood and exposed to terrible dangers and to psychological and physical suffering. They are placed in combat situations, used as spies, messengers, porters, servants or to lay or clear landmines. Girls in particular are at risk of rape and sexual abuse.

For Yemen, the administration’s argument is simply that counterterrorism cooperation with that country is too important to suspend. Yemen is set to receive $35 million from the United States in foreign military financing. What stunned activists in the room, however, was State Department officials’ admission that they don’t know who actually controls the Yemeni military these days.

The take away here is simply. As long as Yemen allows the Obama administration to land military aircraft on their soil, a generation of Yemeni children can be lost, and forgotten.

No wonder much of the world hates the United States. Oh wait. My bad. They don’t hate us, they’re jealous of our way of life. Isn’t that the way the spin hits the wall?

Child soldiers are the 21st century version of 19th century child labor. An insidious practice that is exploitative and cruel. Obama should know better than to tolerate this terrible practice. To stick his head in the sand, as he has in Yemen example because the Yemeni government partners with the US’s counter terrorism effort means Obama is no better than the factions putting machine guns in the hands of 8 year olds.

Obama has done absolutely nothing for the American people and now his lack of humanity is having a negative impact on child in third world countries. Obama has said his “hope and change” never happened. I saw a poll yesterday reported locally that his disapproval numbers have hit 55%. His gift to the American people is a 3-to1 chance of a Republican winning the election in 2012. Maybe this will be a good thing for nations of the world who have child soldiers? I can’t see Romney standing sheepishly on the sideline as kids fight their government’s wars.

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